Alejo Lopez joins Vanessa Montgomery to chat about all things Libra, classic Librans John Lennon and Florence Scovel Shinn, PLUS the new and full Moon, the final Saturn/Uranus square coming in hot, retrograde planets, opportunity aspects, and this month’s main cosmic movements so you can plan your month ahead in alignment with the energies unfolding.
Our featured non-profit this month is https://www.peta.org/ People for Ethical Treatment of Animals, the largest animal rights organization in the world.
Be sure to check out all of our upcoming events including a recent webinar with Alejo Lopez Hard Aspects – The Gift in the Struggle.
Time stamps for the topics covered in this podcast:
00:01-00:48— Introduction
00:48—11:15 Characteristics of Libra
11:15— 14:48 Pitfalls of Libra Season
14:48— 18:35 Things to do in Libra Season
18:35— 25:31 Classic Signs
25:31—39:46 Monthly Moons
39:46— 1:02:15 Key Headlines of Libra Season
1:02:15— 1:04:58 Key Takeaways and Monthly Mantras
1:04:58—1:10:17 What’s on your coffee table?
1:10:17— 1:18:58 What’s coming up next?
1:18:58— 1:21:02 This Month’s Nonprofit + Outro
Transcript for The Cosmic Eye – Libra Season Episode
Tony Howard: This is the Astrology University podcast, helping you find inspiration, insight and connection through the study of astrology. And I’m your host, Tony Howard.
Vanessa Montgomery: Hey starlings and welcome back to the Astrology University podcast. I’m your host, Vanessa Montgomery, from Astro All Starz. And today we have with us Alejo Lopez, who is going to be joining us more regularly from @liminalcosmos to talk all things Libra season on the Cosmic Eye. Thanks and welcome for coming back to share your Venus rulership. Alejo is a Taurus, so we’re applying it to Libra this season.
Alejo Lopez: Thank you. Thank you so much for inviting me. I’m very glad to be here. Yes.
Vanessa: Me too. So let’s dive into Libra. So of course this season starts September 22. As the sun moves into Libra, it is interpersonal cardinal air ruled by Venus. I always think of the cardinal air moving to create not just conversations but partnerships and also connect to other people, even though Gemini is a connector and Aquarius—I mean, that’s the air signs in different ways. I think of how Libra disarms with charm, and so agreeable, polite society, high tea art galleries, love machines. I have a friend with a Libran stellium that just calls herself a love machine and she just loves design and she is an acupuncturist. So balancing the body for health. Looking at all sides of things— I love that about Libra, too. They nod away. Yes, yes, yes, yes. They’re not agreeing. They’re just hearing you. They’re like, yes, confirming receipt.
Alejo: Well, I also like the idea of balance and harmony that you mentioned. And one of the things I always think of Libra is the myth of love from Plato in The Symposium. So basically, he said that, in the beginning, we were around beings, and we were cut off. So we always have this desire to be reunited again with the other half. And I think it’s very much like Libra spirit that we need to find our balance or something— that it’s outside of us. In the animal field, I always think of swans when I think of Libra because they’re gentle. They’re beautiful. They’re harmonious. They mate for life. There’s this idea that there’s one special other who’s a perfect match.
Vanessa: Like the twin flame.
Alejo: Yes, exactly. You see swans, when they get together, they shape the heart. So it’s like a very Libra thing, Libra Venus stuff.
Vanessa: And the grace. So graceful and beautiful. At least above the water, above the surface.
Alejo: They are yes, I think they can also be quite violent, actually. Which is interesting, because Libra, as you were saying, it’s a cardinal sign. And sometimes we think of Libra as indecisive, like they can’t make decisions. But I think it’s nice what you said, like they are nodding not because they are agreeing. They are just saying that they are listening, right? It’s a cardinal sign, it has action, it has drive. When they want something, they will go for it. It’s not a steady, it’s not a mutable sign.
Vanessa: Absolutely. Yeah, it’s in the realm of air and relationships, for sure. We were just talking before we started recording about the projection side. And that if it’s about balance, there’s always something to balance, not just the positive, above the water side of say, the swan, but what’s underneath and what’s paddling around in there, and how we like to project, I suppose, our shadow, project our faults onto other people and tear other people down and put the finger like we don’t have that. But often the reason we’re hooking into it in the first place, you know, you see it, you got it sometimes. And Alejo, of course, is a psychologist as well as an astrologer, sees clients; I counsel as well as see clients and blend the astrology. And so it marries so well with our idea of astrology and certainly Libra, and Alejo was mentioning Jung as well.
Alejo: Yeah, so Carl Jung— he’s not a Libra. I mean, he talked about individuation. He has a lot of Leo in his chart. But he has Jupiter in Libra. And you know, Jupiter is a planet that gives us meaning, that kind of gives us a guideline through life. And when you read his work, it’s all about Libra. It’s all about balance. And I think well, it’s exactly what you said, balance is not necessarily a nice harmonic balance. I mean, it’s always harmonic balance, but in order to do that, you need to face both sides of the equation, right? So his whole psychology is based on polarity. So he talks about the conscious and the unconscious, he talks about the shadow and the light. He talks about the Animus and the Anima. He talks about the personal unconscious and the collective unconscious. There’s always something that counteracts. And when you read also, when you read his books, it’s like he never fully embraces them, he always leaves a little bit of doubt, because he knows that if he fully goes to one mode or one way of thinking, he’s going to create a shadow. So he’s always leaving a little bit of doubt. He’s always inspiring us, as psychologists, when we deal with our patients or clients, whatever you want to call it, to be very careful of our projections. So when you supervise, when you’re doing the Jungian psychology and you supervise, the supervisors will always tell you, “Make sure you don’t ask the questions, trying to take them where you think they should go, because that’s your projection, you need to let them do their own path.” It’s a very Libra thing. Like, you need to stand away in order for them to find their way, but you also need to be there because that’s why they are there. Right? So it’s a very balancing thing. It’s very interesting. Yeah.
Vanessa: Exactly. I find it fascinating. And even just talking about this now, we owe such a debt. I know I use so much of this language and these concepts in my astrology, in my writing in my books, I don’t know where I’d be without them, actually. Very formative. And to think about that flowing back to there’s this abundant Jupiter, his gift and his faith that’s passed on to us as well, with this Libra balance, as well as the individuation side. A lot of things I’ve looked at really make sense about, you can’t just sit up one side of a polarity because you won’t have balance; balance in a situation means acknowledging where you’re delusional, and that could be in the positive or the negative, that illusion could be you think it’s all good, or you think it’s all bad, because you’re not seeing the other side of it, the full picture. So balance is about seeing that picture and then finding the middle path, which gets us to Buddhism. What a lot of religions try to encourage as well, just walk that middle road, harmony.
Alejo: Yeah, I also think it’s very dynamic. Sometimes we think of balance and harmony in a static way. And actually, I mean, if you have to ride a bike, if you go very, very slow, it’s very hard. It’s easier when you’re moving, right? So I think these projections and stuff, they’re constantly changing. It’s never the same. I think that’s also another point.
Vanessa: Yeah, that’s that Cardinal. Yes, true. There’s that yang, you have to yang it to make it work. It’s definitely not sedentary or stagnant. It’s not the stability of Taurus. It requires movement. And I think of also, a lot of us think of like, of course, the beauty and the swans and the charm and the art and the relationships. And I think part of that yang side, that parrying, I think that fencing is very Libran, and law, lawyers, you know, law, the justice, the fairness is a huge component of Libra, because again, it’s balanced, it’s what is fair. And a lot of lawyers, of course, move into politics, or I should say a lot of politicians have a background in law. And I think that’s interesting as well, moving into politics, because you want to be a mediator for people and negotiate for people and find some kind of fair resolution, look back on laws that may need to be updated so they’re more fair and things like that.
Alejo: Yeah. You know, I have a friend in Barcelona, who has a lot of Libra. And he has Saturn in Libra. He’s also Sun in Libra. And he is a lawyer. And he’s a lawyer for— how do you call it— he’s a lawyer for the bad guys, you know, the ones that have been accused of nasty stuff. And when I first met him, when we came more friends and I learned more about his job, I had a moment of moral questioning, like, “can I be a friend of a guy who’s doing this?” So I asked him, but how can you sleep when you do this? And he looked at me like in a very stable and quiet way. And he said, “what, you don’t think they deserve to have a defense, to be listened to what happened?” I was kind of shocked. You know, it really pushed me to a very dark area of myself. Like, I don’t know what my position is about this. But I think it was a very Libra thing. Like he was like, “if you want justice, and if you want things to be fair, they need to go through trial and need a defense also.” To me it was mind blowing. It was an interesting experience.
Vanessa: That’s really interesting because that is so air, because air doesn’t necessarily judge. It’s being fair. And Libra, one thing I learned from a Cancer Sun friend, the one that got me into studying astrology properly, so we would discuss these things, and she would talk about how she gets offended if people aren’t on her side. Like if friends don’t just support her, because you know, there’s signs that will just support you, doesn’t matter if you’re wrong, it doesn’t matter, you’re in their tribe. Whereas the Libra doesn’t do that. Libra or air signs will say, “No, you were wrong.” That’s the whole point of being on the fence. You are not taking sides, you’re having that detachment to give a fair appraisal. What do you do? Sometimes it can be tough, because Libra sees all the sides, that’s why they don’t make decisions. They know they’re gonna get slammed for whatever decision they make, but they know the right decision, but they also know the outcome. And it might not go so well for them.
So pitfalls of Libra season. Speaking of decision, well, indecision, I suppose. Being objective and critical. In a time where there’s certain things that it’s probably better to just sort of sit back and engage for a little longer considering the times and a lot of different viewpoints on the table at the moment.
Alejo: Yeah, exactly. Maybe it’s not being indecisive, but taking the time to see all of the sides of the equation.
Vanessa: Yeah, yeah, the codependence, conflict avoidance, there’s a few. Doormats, door matting. That’s a bit more seventh house people. Can be— I’ve seen a lot of people in relationships that are not making the move they should make when they do have that Libra in there.
Alejo: Yeah, I agree. I mean, in traditional astrology, the Sun is in fall in Libra, right? So yeah, in a very uncomfortable place. And I don’t like to take dignities very hard, written in stone. But I think there is a possible meaning, which is like, okay, it’s harder to bring out your own light if you’re always being so attentive to what other people saw, what other people think, what other people want.
Vanessa: Exactly. I think that traditional astrology is valuable for that, you know, well let’s look at why that might be rather than ah, your Sun is in fall or detriment. It’s like, well, why might that be? And how might that be showing up? And how might we lean into the polarity of say, in this situation, Aries to throw a tantrum, walk out and slam the door behind you— cut.
Alejo: Yeah, exactly. Maybe sometimes, that’s what you need to do. Sometimes, like you were saying, in relationships, what they need is somebody to slam the door, and to kind of cause a little bit of revolt, to see what happens. Yeah.
Vanessa: Exactly. And not wait for the other person to do it when you really want to do it, which I have come across a lot as well. I think it’s amusing. There’s some women at the moment that are leading the charge for this sort of thing and speaking to this and they’ve got like T shirts or hats and things that say, “just dump him.” You know, mostly for women that are really stuck in that being passive and waiting for the other person to make a move that they know that they want. They’re being Libran about it. They’re not Aries’ing or Mars’ing the situation. So yeah, always want to remember and a good one once the moon comes into fall, when we get to the moons, we can talk a bit more about that. Any other pitfalls of Libra season?
Alejo: Yeah, don’t lose your sense of purpose just because of diplomacy or your sense of will just because you want to be— I mean, it’s great, I do think we do need a little bit of Libra in the world, maybe in the politician aspects of the world. But at the same time, as we were saying before, Libra is a cardinal sign, it goes for what Libra wants. So make sure that just because you’re diplomatic and you’re kind don’t lose your sense of direction. I think an important thing to remember, don’t over-compromise sometimes.
Vanessa: Yes, compromise. That’s a good one. Look at where that balance is, look at where your locus of control is with Libra, because Aries is so centered in themselves. So the opposite sign, Libra, can often have that locus of control, that center outside of themselves and too much in the other person. So that could be a pitfall. So just kind of gauge where that is for you in that Libra area.
So things to do in Libra season. You’ve got some fun ones here. Things to do.
Alejo: Well the first one I got is: to get married! Talking about compromises and stuff.
Vanessa: *sarcastically* Yes, compromise and marriage: never!
Alejo: Yeah. I mean, if you want to get married, I think it’s a great day to marry in Libra season. Yeah, come on, if you’re planning your marriage and you can plan for this time of the year, I think it’s fantastic. Also, the weather is fantastic, I think all over the world because it’s either spring or autumn. So it’s like a very nice weather.
Vanessa: Exactly, and there’s such a romantic feeling about fall in the northern, and of course spring is just beautiful here with all the flowers coming out. So on brand to get married. Why stop at one? Can I say that? Oh, start a cooperative partnership. You know, collab, team up, find your dynamic duo. In many ways, do a project, a single project together, so that you are independent, but balance the Aries/Libra.
Alejo: Yeah, I think it’s a great time to do that. Also. Yeah, the Sun would support that. Yeah, the Sun is also our goals and our aims. So if you start something that’s cooperative with the Sun in Libra, it means that the spirit of the project is the idea of cooperation. So I think it could be really good. Yeah.
Vanessa: I think the artistic side, it would be great to go to some life drawing classes or go to a dance class where it’s in a duo, where you’re learning a dance where you have to team up, I think that would be so much fun.
Alejo: Yes, I agree. Yes. Okay, what happens to people who do not have so much Libra? So they’re listening about this, and how Libra is open to balancing, and they go like, “Oh, I could never do that.” Well, maybe this is the time to try to experience that. And one way to experience that, I’m very supportive of the idea of experiencing things through your body, not just your mind. So I think for instance, dancing lessons is a very good way of experiencing this idea of balance. I also think—how do you call it when you go— rowing? This boat rowing? Yeah, a rowboat— kayaking? But when you do it by two, when you need the two people in the same boat, I think it can also be like a very Libra experience.
Vanessa: Because it’s cooperative. Ask someone out on a date, if you’re single and ready to mingle. Or go on a few extra special dates with your partner, regardless of how long you’ve been together. Bring the romance in, bring the beauty, the charm factor. And yes, maybe like you’re saying, I like that, do something where it requires some sort of cooperation and collaboration.
Alejo: Yeah, I think it’s really nice what you’re saying, if you’re in a relationship for a long time, maybe this is a good moment to kind of bring up again the spirit of the beginning of the relationship probably, in which you were clearly trying to seduce the other person. Sometimes when relationships gets established, we forget that we still need to be seducing our partners. Sometimes we don’t, but some people forget, right? So I think it’s a nice time to go back to that spirit. Okay, I need to seduce my partner. Yeah. Romantic date or these kinds of things.
Vanessa: Or call in the seduction, like, seduce me, show me what you got.
Alejo: Exactly, go to Victoria’s Secret, buy some stuff. I don’t know. I’m pushing to Scorpio now more than Libra.
Vanessa: Well, you know,you gotta go on a date first, and that’s a Libra romance, isn’t it? Like the engagement, the marriage? I mean, and a bit Leo, those three tend to be along those lines.
Let’s move into classic signs. Who is your classic sign, Alejo?
Alejo: So I chose John Lennon for a typical Libra. And for those who want to see his chart, he was born on the ninth of October 1940 6:30pm, in Liverpool. And he’s Libra, he’s a Sun in Libra. Right in the middle of the sign. He was born at 6:30, so the sun was setting. So it’s an angular Sun, which usually gives it a strength, let’s say. And it’s interesting because he’s Aries rising, which could be opposite to that. But actually, his Mars, who is the ruler of Aries, is also in Libra. So there’s a lot of Libra quality here around and his north node is there also in Libra. So he really has something in his chart taking him to Libra. And well, of course, we know he was a defender of peace, he was against war. He wrote this song, “Let’s Give Peace a Chance.” And he was a very political activist against domination, against the war in Vietnam, against capitalism, against many, many things. He had this belief, perhaps, in his own way, of trying to create a more fair society. He changed his name. So when he married Yoko Ono he changed his name to make sure that Ono was part of his name, with this idea of bringing balance. And we know the portrait of the album where they are together, right? This idea of love and free love. He did this campaign, I remember now, I think it was in Amsterdam to support peace, where he called everybody to— it was like a huge, how did he call it? Like this huge bed protest?
Vanessa: The love-in! Yeah, he’s so classic.It just leads to so many examples in his life. And yeah, even his songs, being known for his relationship in the end.
Alejo: And now some things have came up about his intimate life, his personal life, like we were saying about the shadow and the projection. And it seems that he was abusive with his first wife. He was very jealous and a bit possessive. In some of his interviews, he said that actually, it was with Yoko Ono when he learned how to be a true feminist. He was raised by five women, by his mom and her sisters. He used to say that it was them who gave him the spirit of being a feminist. So this idea of bringing balance, right? But he did have his first wife. I mean, for what we know, we don’t really know. But for what we know, he was not very nice to her. And afterwards, he confessed that he realized that he had been aggressive. And it was wrong of him to do that. He learned that through Yoko Ono. So I think it’s interesting again, because there’s Sun in Libra here. It’s setting. So it’s interesting that it’s through his relationships that he learns and he incorporates this Libra quality.
Vanessa: Absolutely, yeah, very interesting. And then, you know, sharing this message with the world as well. And being that leader with that Sun in Libra, and the Mars as well, that leadership through creating harmony. I do think of a lot of the Librans that make so much change. And it’s that passive resistance, you know, like he’s literally laying in bed. This is his resistance. Not that Libra’s lazy, but sometimes they can be a little bit Venus ruled.
Alejo: Yeah, exactly. Yeah.
Vanessa: My classic sign is— most people probably wouldn’t have heard of her, and I hadn’t until this week—Florence Scovel Shinn. I’m not sure if I’m saying that properly, but she’s American. And her first book came out in 1925 called Your Word is Your Wand. And she has Sun conjunct Venus in Libra. And I thought, you know, it’s an air sign, we’re talking about words here, she was writing. So I started looking into her, and she’s all about that New Age movement, that new thought movement that really came out of America, especially towards the West. It’s a lot about the power of positive thought, the power of positive thinking, and I was thinking, “Oh, you know, Louise Hay is very well known for that as well.” I know she’s a Libra, I might look at their charts and just have a look at this. And her Sun is conjunct Florence’s Sun-Venus. So of course, she’s feeling the connection. And someone sent her Florence’s final manuscript, many years later, after Florence had already died, I think. And so Louise Hay published that, and it was called The Magic Path of Intuition. And what she says in the book is— that Louise Hay says is— “Not long after Florence published her first book, Louise Hay was born. And she says, ‘I have long felt a kinship with her (Florence.) I first came across her work in 1972, as I was beginning my own exploration of the metaphysical world, and I’ve been enamored with her ever since. I resonated with her no-nonsense way of writing. Her words spoke to me and I became a devoted follower. I often quoted her affirmations and shared them with my own students.’” So she was really influenced by this idea. And I’ll say one of the affirmations in this verse. I think it’s the first book. “My goodwill is a strong tower around me. I now change all enemies into friends. All inharmony into harmony, all injustice into justice.” And can’t you just hear the Libra in there, the key themes?
Alejo: Totally, yes. Amazing. And it’s amazing how both charts—
Vanessa: Yeah, that made me think more about affirmations and that idea of all this sort of stuff, aligning it with Libra. Mostly, I would think it’s very Sagittarius or Jupiter or Neptune in Pisces, but I was thinking more about it being Venusian and Libra, because it is about creating a harmony, like using your intention to create this different, harmonious frequency. And my mega Libra friend that I mentioned earlier, she’s very much like this as well. And she really practices this sort of approach to the world as as well with her girlfriend. And yeah, they’re very positive. They’re very aware of that. It’s a balance of energy and frequency. And air is that quality as well. It’s very light. It’s not so much the earth quality, “just do it.” It’s creating this environment or frequency. So yes, something to think about if anyone wants to build on that idea. I’d be interested in what they came up with.
Monthly moons: we’re up to monthly moons segments. So the New Moon in Libra is September 25. It’s going to be at 2’ 49”, 5:45 EST. It will be conjunct Mercury retro, which is in Virgo. Conjunct Venus in Virgo. So the ruler will be in fall. Opposite Jupiter, which is retro in Aries, but trine to Pluto. And Pluto’s actually making quite a lot of trines, as well. So Pluto’s strong at that time. So what do you think? The ruler is in fall, it just adds that extra layer, doesn’t it, to this one?
Alejo: Yeah, I mean, we were talking before about one of the pitfalls of Libra season may be over-adapting and over-compromising on these kind of things. And, Virgo is also a sign that tends to—you know, I think one of the ideas in Virgo is the context is more important than the self. That’s why I serve, right? It’s like, what happens to me is not so important. What happens to the world and to other people is what’s important. And so if we mix these two ideas together, Venus in Virgo it might really be a thing about yeah, over-adapting, perhaps, over-trying to service other people. And maybe not, maybe it’s actually the time to do that. Maybe it’s telling us it’s the time to start something in which the context is more important than the self. So I think it always is tricky, always need to look at your chart and see how this is impacting your chart, right? But I think there is a theme about who am I and how I adapt to other people’s wishes, and what are my needs? What is it that I want and I desire, with Venus, I would say.
Vanessa: Absolutely. And you can apply it to your own chart for, well, where does this land? Where does this two degree New Moon in Libra land in your chart? So this is the area to do this. Yeah, wherever the sun’s going through in your chart—you might not have Libra in your chart—but that area that it represents is where you can look for those collaborations, and even just decorate and make the environment beautiful and harmonious. So you walk into it and feel great. Team up. Yeah, do something collaborative, because it might be in business. It might be in like a group thing. It could just be like, let’s all go out to some shows in the gallery. And just have a nice time.
Alejo: Yeah, totally. And with Venus in Virgo, like you were saying, let’s just go out and do it, don’t get stuck with the ideas. But let’s just go and do it. Because I think Virgo is about realities, about the real world. So in whichever area you have, and you’re thinking of doing things with other people, and it’s probably something enjoyable, because it’s about Libra and Venus. Don’t get stuck only with the idea of doing it, but try to ground it, try to make it work in real life.
Vanessa: Mmm, yeah, Virgo is about doing things for people, it’s an earth sign, you could be the one that organizes it, if it feels right. I think often Venus is in fall in Virgo, because something I have noticed about Virgos is they’ll over-give and over-deliver and the boundary doesn’t snap in at the right time. And then they’ve really given too much because people take advantage or they don’t know where that person’s boundary is because they haven’t let them know. So I guess really feeling that out. But certainly doing something practical for the relationship or grounding it in some way, as well, since it’s in an earth sign. Mercury’s in there as well, retrograde, in Virgo. So I’m just thinking, there is certainly that communication aspect, and maybe going over a few practical things about a relationship and that area of your life or having a reflection or having that kind of conversation where you can have a detachment but some sort of practical, “let’s pin down a few things that maybe we do need to review” and talk about what perhaps we’ve been avoiding for the sake of keeping the peace and the harmony, as well.
Alejo: Because with Mercury, you have this idea of reflection, and especially rhetoric, this idea of going back and re-analyzing and all of that. I think there is a question. Sometimes, like you were saying, like in relationships, we just get along with them. And of course we don’t want confrontations, we just kind of adapt and adapt. And it comes to the moment where one needs to ask the question, “Is this actually working for me? Is this relationship working in real life?” Like what’s demanding of me? And what am I giving this relationship? And you were saying before, use that shirt, “Just dump him.” Maybe you could wear the shirt “just dump him” or maybe what you need to do is go with the Mercury and have a conversation. New Moon usually the beginning of a process. So it could be the beginning of a process about thinking about whether this is working or not for you, and how.
Vanessa: What’s annoying you?
Alejo: Exactly, what’s annoying you, exactly.
Vanessa: With the practical outcome, you know, Virgo— I like how Tony, the mega Virgo, always talks about tweaking; Virgos are well used to adapt and tweak. So how can we come in this with some practical, service-oriented tweaking here and get down to some detail? Don’t just brush over it and not confront.
Alejo: Yeah. And also be very specific. Sometimes, when we have to have these conversations we’re more opened. We don’t want to be too specific, because sometimes we feel— well, there could be many different reasons why we’re not doing that— but I think with Venus in Virgo it’s really telling us go to the detail. Be specific, be clear, use examples, like don’t let it be Piscean, the opposite. It’s not Pisces, it’s Virgo.
Vanessa: Exactly, exactly.
Alejo: Now also, I think it’s interesting that it’s opposite Jupiter in Aries. Because Jupiter in Aries is kind of my beliefs, I stand for what I believe, this is what I think, this is the way I do things, this is the way the world works. That’s why it’s opposite to Libra, which is quite the opposite. So I think that may be also something to highlight, to bear in mind that your beliefs are your beliefs, and that Libra and the lights being in Libra perhaps is eliminating the opportunity to negotiate them or to see what are the other people that are involved in this kind of relationship, what are their beliefs? And how do they make meaning of things that happened between the two of you? And how can you talk about it? And of course, because it’s an opposition, it’s probably hard, it’s probably going to take some work. I mean, maybe it’s worth it.
Vanessa: And Jupiter is retrograde as well. So that does suggest, again, to be going back over, rather than trying to push for growth and go for that next big leap. It’s okay, now we need to back it up a bit here first.
Alejo: Yeah, I agree. Yeah.
Vanessa: And then setting intentions on that new moon, you could see, Okay, this is the beginning of this process, maybe set something for two weeks time on the full moon, or a larger plan for the Full Moon in Libra six months down the track or a full whole cycle to the next new moon, you know, maybe set a few different goalposts like that as well. Sometimes there’s gonna be deadlines. Like I get a lot of clients that are just not taking the lead and doing what they want to do. And sometimes you need a deadline, they’re just waiting for the other person to do it. It’s like, “Well, how about by this point?” You can go with the astrology on that. And you know, you can let the let the partner know, come to an agreement together with something. So you’re both on board because it is about doing this together.
Alejo: Exactly. Yeah, I agree. When you’re able to put it out there, sometimes what happens (I’m thinking about this Jupiter opposite) sometimes what happens in a relationship is that we don’t both agree on what the problem is. So when you’re able to put it out there, the first thing you can work on is agreeing on what is the problem? What do you need to work on? Sometimes what happens is that each one of us is trying to work to make the relationship work. But each one is going on their own path.
Vanessa: And often the understanding is just need that understanding. And if you don’t know the other person might be doing their best and you’re seeing it as a negative because you don’t understand that they’re actually doing it for whatever reason. And once you realize you’re like, “Oh, now I appreciate, I value.” Because you know their ideas around Libra and Venus rule their value. So getting on board. That sounds fun. So a bit of a stellium crossing Virgo and Libra. For the full moon is October 9, 16 Aries 33 4:55pm EST. That one full moon in Aries is conjunct Chiron, retrograde Chiron this time, which is at 14 Aries. It’s sextile a retro Saturn. At the same time there’s a grand air trine, which is Sun-Venus conjunction, Saturn in Aquarius and Mars in Gemini. Hmm, that’s interesting.
Alejo: I think it’s very interesting, yeah.
Vanessa: The Chiron Moon is— yeah, so Sun will be conjunct Venus opposite Moon conjunct Chiron. I think tread lightly for that. I mean, Chiron-Moon is sensitized. You’ve got the Chiron one degree off the opposition with Venus, as well. I always think if something happens and something just bites you a little too hard, bring it up. Don’t just sit nursing your wound, you can always loop back—the Brene Brown style—loop back and bring it up and let the person know. Often we wound people, get wounded. And that’s the Chiron theme, isn’t it, completely by accident? You know, it just triggers something. And I think it’s worth going in and doing a bit of, what would you call it, like cleanup on that with that person? As soon as you sort of realized, even if you feel like it’s too late, you know, it’s never too late.
Alejo: Yeah, I mean, if it’s a full moon, I think it’s about bringing light to the situation. So new moons are the dark sky. But Full Moon is like, it’s huge, I mean, t’s like the Earth is in the middle, we’re getting all of the light from the sun, we’re getting all of the light from the moon. So it’s like, yeah, bring it up. I think what the astrology is suggesting is that it’s a time where these wounds or this feeling of inadequacy, or whatever it is, is starting to burst up and wants to come into the light. Yeah, I think it’s the right time to see it. And also, like in the Chiron story, the only way to deal with the wound is to accept it. So it’s like we need to put it out there into the limelight. Yeah.
Vanessa: Exactly, and that’s the only way you can sort of transcend it, too— you’ve got to deal with it. It could just come up because it’s the situation, you know, the full moon pinging something up. I do think it’s interesting that the sun is so strong there in Libra with Venus in sign next to it, it’s such a strong statement, then with this wounding around the Aries principle and the lunar principle as well.
Alejo: Yeah, and I think it really is about what you were saying the Sun with Venus together in Libra. It really it’s about focusing on the opportunity of opening up, of trusting the other person. I think it’s really emphasized. And the grand trine in air is perhaps giving us the opportunity to be able to do it in a non so aggressive way or non so— I mean, even though of course the moon is in Aries and Chiron is in Aries. So it can make them up for explosion. I think the grand trine in air is promising that we can talk about, we can talk about it. We can really dissect what happened and work with it.
Vanessa: I agree. I think that’s really promising. And even though Saturn’s retrograde it is such a stabilizing planet in trine. And never underestimate how stabilizing and just amazing Saturn in trine to a planet is. Saturn is long term, so you can look at those long term things and what you do over that full moon, maybe that can lock into long term. It’s trine Mars, which is— I wish I had that in my birth chart, I think that’s one of the best aspects you can get is to have that stabilized, long term Mars actions. Yeah, Mars in there as well, trining to Venus and the Sun. Well, it’s not quite hitting Venus, but Venus is on the Sun. So here we are, again, with these two planets that are often seen as polarities that are working together really beautifully.
Alejo: Yeah, and they are the rulers of— I mean they are dispositors, if you want, of the moon and the sun. So it’s really bringing a balance and stabilizing this intense dialogue between what I felt I needed that you didn’t give me or whatever happened.
Vanessa: See how that’s falling in your chart and when it’s going to ping off or not ping off, or what kind of area it’s in. Some people could be in for a bit of an emotional ping, or a twang are a little thing. But always also remember that sometimes it’s the messenger, you know, that person is in a role that triggers this little trap that’s already built into. Sometimes I think about it like when you’re walking through a battlefield where there’s been mines left and you just hear that “click, click” and you know, in relationships, it does happen so much, so regularly. And it’s just yeah, learning how, okay, how do we deal with that? How do we diffuse this now? How do we.. if it’s exploded, okay, how do we start to remove the landmines from this field?
Alejo: That’s why I’d say pay attention to how it builds up, because it’s true, like you are saying, we feel the click, and it feels like the lunation is triggering something. And the first feeling is like this is coming out of the blue. But actually, maybe because we have a lot of air in this full moon, you can actually do this easier, maybe. Okay, try to back up and see how this has been building up. It doesn’t happen from one day to the other that this gets triggered or this gets clicked; there has been something going on. So I think it’s good to also look at that.
Vanessa: Exactly.
So now we’re up to the headline section. The key signatures for the month: aspects and ingresses. Of course Sun into Libra September 22, Mercury retrograding back into Virgo September 23. New Moon in Libra September 25. September 28 Jupiter will semi-square Uranus. It’s a semi-square but, you know, we’re beyond the personal planets here. September 29 Venus will enter Libra. October 2 Mercury will move direct. October 2 first quarter moon. October 8 Pluto moves direct. We’ve had so many planets retrograde, so they’re starting to turn around. October 9 Full Moon in Aries. October 10 Mercury enters Libra. October 17 last quarter moon. October 23 Saturn direct. So what was the big headline that was standing out for you for Libra season?
Alejo: So one of the things we have that I find that is interesting is we have Venus in Virgo, and it’s going to be training Pluto and Uranus. So as we know Pluto is in Capricorn, Uranus in Taurus and Venus is in Virgo. But Venus is also opposing Neptune. This is called the kite, basically. I mean, it depends on the orbs that you use, really, because maybe Uranus and Neptune are a bit far— it depends on your orbs. But I think you could consider this a kite, which means that we have this grand trine energy which is kind of a flowing energy, but something is pulling that energy towards another possible expression. So what I’m thinking with Venus, Uranus, and Pluto, this is a moment to really go through what is the basic of your relationship? What is the foundation of your sense of worth, you know, this is the idea to me. Venus is about what you consider valuable. And what you consider valuable is what you’re going to look for in other person, in other people. In this movie, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, they say, “We accept the love we think we deserve.” Right? So with Pluto and Uranus there, I think it’s like, the question is okay, what is the basic idea in my sense of worth with Pluto there, like go deep and see where is it coming from. And with Uranus, it’s giving you the opportunity to try to change that. It’s like a dual process, you can sink in to what your relationships are. And then also with Uranus, you can sink out and fly and look from a distance and analyze and work through that, right? And once you have that, because it’s an earth sign, I would suggest to try to be very grounded, very critical, very practical, very specific. It’s not about your ideas. It’s like, how are your relationships manifesting in the world? Once you have done that, you can bring in the Neptune, right? So Neptune will open it up, like okay, so what is it that I dream of in relationship? What is it that I want to surrender to in a relationship? What is it that opens my heart? What is it that makes me open my heart and dissolve into other people? So I think it’s a strong kite, because it’s Venus, it’s such a personal planet. And it’s been aspected by the three trans-Saturnian planets. So I think it might be a moment, especially the beginning of the season, where we may have the chance to try to see what patterns are behind our way of relating. And what does it mean in the real world? What does it mean, in practicality, in the way we relate? And well, how we can deal with that. Whether we want to accept that or we want to change it.
Vanessa: And Mercury retrograde in Virgo is conjunct Venus as well. Like it’s right in there. I agree with you, this specificity, not like all the ideas. It’s like okay, let’s get down to brass tacks, nuts and bolts. What is it that we need to do or what’s not working? Or how can we do this? It’s really looking for practical outcomes and solutions that are useful, not just talk about whatever that annoys you. It’s like, well, how can we make this a really useful conversation or reflection. Pluto is also retrograde there. And they’re real heavy hitters, Uranus and Pluto, they’re heavy hitters. Uranus, you could break out somehow. Pluto is get down to the deep stuff and expunge it or get down into a deeper level by having the conversation in the first place.
Alejo: Because it’s trines, it’s a supportive aspect. So I think you will probably feel relieved if you do this. I mean, supportive aspects from transpersonal planets, I don’t know how supportive they are, because they’re always kind of challenging, right? But still, it’s a supportive aspect. So even though it might be scary to face this, I think most probably, if we do this, we’re going to feel relieved. We’re gonna feel some sense of weight being taken off of our shoulders.
Vanessa: Absolutely. There’s a lot of Earth, there’s a practical start to Libra season, which could be useful. I was looking at Mars retrograde, which is going to be in the headlines for the next— forever. But I noticed when I was preparing, and we’ll get to it, Astrology University has a webinar on the whole Mars retrograde, so we won’t get right into it. But I thought it was interesting that Tony, the king of out of bounds planet, it’s with Tony and he mentions that Mars is going to be out of bounds for six months. And so through most of this also retrograde period, in the Gemini period, it’s interesting how they align, it will be a really interesting webinar. Well, what are we gonna get out of this retrograde? It’s also out of bounds. That’s crazy. And considering the state of things in the world as it is already, then that other headline that’s kind of been slowly grinding into almost exact but it doesn’t quite get there, too, but it’s exact enough—the final Saturn-Uranus square on October 29. So that’s into Scorpio season, but we are grinding into that now. So it’s really worth speaking to. And again, looking at the state of the world, I feel like it’s like two big glaciers or something crashing against each other. It’s got that kind of energy to it. Yeah, so just to sort of keep an eye on that and also where it is in one’s personal chart, if that’s on the angles. I’ve seen some interesting situations. I will share one from my cousin, I personally have that on my angles Ascendant and Midheaven. But when Mars went through my cousin, who I feature her chart is always an example chart in my books, and she’s Charlie now. And it laid into her chart differently than mine because of her own personal planets. So this is the example: the Mars happened to be opposite her Mars as well. The Saturn was in Aquarius, so it was hitting those and she was running (personally, I canceled a trip to Brisbane. I’m just like, I’m not leaving the house! And I’m not doing a drive in my car with Mars kicking off the way I saw it was kicking off this square and this situation with the node there too.) But she was running at a theme park and some guy hit into her, some old guy, and she broke her ankle really badly because opposite her Mars. And Mars is in the seventh, some guy, and she had those other planets getting triggered that are in Aquarius, and of course Aquarius rules the ankles. And it pushed her into the Saturn because of that as well. She’s got like these metal plates, wired into her bone for the rest of her life. Like to me that’s quite Saturnian. In Aquarius on the ankle,
Alejo: It’s very Saturnian, yes, and the way it happened, it’s very martial.
Vanessa: Very martial, as well. And it’s right on those angles. So I didn’t break mine, but I wasn’t hitting off things in my chart, it’s on my angles, but it’s not hitting my planets, in a way. So I thought that was a really good example. And I felt kind of bad that I wasn’t onto her chart and warned her to be really mindful. And generally over that period, I was saying be really mindful about action generally to everyone when Mars went over the node. Just be mindful about the action because it’s also square, in that case, setting off Uranus, square Saturn, accidents.
Alejo: Yeah. But I mean, it’s also always a mystery— I don’t want to make it sound like toxic positivity, but it’s always a mystery how sometimes we need certain experiences to grow, and you cannot help them. I’m not trying to justify bad things that happen in the world. I’m not trying to justify the awful things that happened in the world. So it’s a bit tricky. It’s a bit— again, the Libra thing, right? I don’t want to see bad things as an opportunity, like some people say. But at the same time, sometimes these things have a strong meaning and they make a huge impact in us that makes us mature and grow. We were talking about Saturn. So we never know how your cousin might have needed this experience or not. We can never know, of course, yeah.
Vanessa: Exactly. Sometimes things happen because you didn’t know, so I guess it’s being positive about that. And now you know, so going forward, or yeah, there’s always benefits.
Alejo: Again, it’s the Libra thing. Try not to see the both sides of the thing when something happens.
Vanessa: Absolutely. So that’s the headline coming in, coming in hot actually all through October. So that precious, precious grinding in through October. Oh, yeah, I thought it was interesting the chart shape. We’ve had for quite a while now all the planets really in one hemisphere, or one half of the chart. And now that the personal planets, at least, moving in the opposite of those, which is of course why we have so many planets in retrograde because they’re opposite the Sun. So yeah, just this period as opposed to the other half of the year, it is bringing a bit of balance to your chart to those areas of your life just generally in the world. And I thought that was interesting. So we’ve got lots of oppositions happening over this last season, this season, and Scorpio season while those retrogrades are still moving in exact opposition, so you may have opposition, we’re seeing a lot of opposition in the world. You know, we’re seeing that division. And the good thing about oppositions is: you can see it, it’s opposite you, at least you can see it.
Alejo: Yeah, exactly. You can see it, it’s a very Libra thing. You said— oh, sorry. Go on. *Jokingly* Oh, so Libra— you go, no you go. It’s a very Libra thought. I mean, the idea of opposition, we see it out there. Like we were saying before about the shadow, we see it out there. It allows us to see the other perspective, we see it out there. And from that, from there, we can start working to see what does it mean for me? How does it affect me? What does it say about me?
Vanessa: Yeah, it’s so on brand for all this set up to be like that. And it’s something I’ve been thinking about watching the US politics much more these days. And just these two really dominant sides, I won’t go too far into it, but just these two really dominant sides. And I feel like each side seems very entrenched in its own point of view, that the more one gets further out into their own point of view and reactive, it just drives the balance of the other side to get further out in their view and lock in their stance. And it’s just this no-win situation that they’re both making worse and worse and worse. And it just seems like each one can’t see that that’s what they’re doing. Whereas, you know, we’re separate from it. I’m not saying I agree, but I can see why each side thinks what they think. I have Sun in the seventh house, there is a little bit of that Libra vibe there, I can see why they think that and then the reaction that that’s going to garner from the other side, let’s say “side,” political side, and how that side is then seeing it back and then responding. And I just wish that they could take a bit more of a step back, because the only way that this can work is there is going to be an implosion. They can’t just keep getting further apart and driving these ideas further and further off reality or the planet, basically, which seems to be kind of where they’re going. Both sides have great views on certain things and then like crazy on other things, and it’s it’s really interesting to apply that idea of that polarity and “Libra’ing” the situation, you know, the mediator, the negotiator, if that could come in and somehow get these two sides into balance so they can integrate somehow. And I guess that’s the whole Jungian psychological approach too, isn’t it? It’s like a key word. It’s really about finding integration.
Alejo: Yeah, totally. But I feel like with this Mars, since we’re talking about Mars in Gemini out of bounds and all of that, I think it’s probably hard for them to do that. It’s not just the US. So I’m from Argentina, the same thing is happening there. And I lived in Spain a long time and the same thing is happening there. I’m in Greece now, but to be honest, I don’t know much about Greek politics, because I can’t speak Greek yet. So I’m not reading the newspapers. I don’t know if it’s happening here, also, but probably is. It was also happening in France in the last elections, I remember.
Vanessa: I guess it’s global. It’s just, it just seems so clear. And there’s so many people in the US, it’s English speaking, so I understand the language and what’s happening. We have it here, but we’re just not as extreme. We just don’t have those fundamentals that it takes to be as extreme, but sort of like the US seems to have a natural leadership. So it does fire off similar ideas around the world because we’re all on the same page. Yeah, it’s very interesting. Yeah. We need to Libra that. So it’ll be interesting to see how it all plays out.
Alejo: I like that from 27th September to 6th of October, the grand trine that we were talking about between Pluto, Uranus and Venus, so Venus moves away and Mercury goes into the equation. I mean, you mentioned Mercury before, but in this case, the grand trine is only with Mercury, Uranus and Pluto. I mean, of course, it always depends on the orbs you use a little bit. And I think again, it’s an opportunity to maybe speak up, say things you want to change, say things you want to move on. Maybe it’s an opportunity also to learn something new, to change the way you think, and the way you express yourself of course, but I will say mostly, it’s a great opportunity if you want to learn something new to help you think in a different way. If you want to start therapy, it’s a great moment to start therapy or maybe you don’t want to start therapy but you’re thinking of doing some activity that’s just for one day or two days that will help you reflect and learn about who you are. I think it might be an opportunity there
Vanessa: And super practical, all in earth signs, too. Super practical. What are you going to make with this, “Be The Change.”
Alejo: BE THE CHANGE, exactly, be the change you want to be in the world. Another thing I like is on the first of October, Venus is opposing Jupiter. And then on the 10th of October, she’s opposing Chiron, but then on the 14th Venus trines Saturn. So if we follow a process, so first Venus opposes Jupiter, then Venus opposes Chiron and then she trines Saturn, right? So with the opposition, you know, Jupiter and Chiron they’re related somehow, they’re both centaurs, so in some ways they’re related. I always find them kind of connected in some ways. So with Venus opposing Jupiter and Chiron, again, this may help us to value what our beliefs are, what guidelines are, what grounds our idea of worth? What is it that we believe we’re worth? Why do we believe life is worth living for and why is it that we find our life valuable? Right, our being valuable, with Venus-Jupiter, and with Venus opposite Chiron this process may bring out some dark, difficult stuff, right? So I think the whole Jupiter-Chiron opposing Venus, I mean, Venus opposing Jupiter-Chiron, is about perhaps dealing with some difficult stuff about our sense of worth, our sense of value, the choices we make in relationships. And if we want to ground it also, Venus could also be about finances. So we could also see how this manifests in our sense of finance. But then Venus trine Saturn, so I think that this is also like a process of, if we go through the experience of trying to find what is the meaning, you know, when Jupiter is transiting a planet I always ask the question, okay, what is the meaning of this? What is the meaning of my relationships? And with Chiron, we might be asking a similar question. And then it trines Saturn. So it’s like after you go through that analyzing, assessing process, I think you can get to an agreement, get to a commitment. Not necessarily with other people, it might be with your relationship. But I would say I would put it more like within yourself, with your own sense of worth, with your own sense of value. And maybe this has an impact on your finances, with the way you deal with your finances, also. So it’s like you can examine that. And then on the 14th of October when the trine comes up, you can maybe make an agreement, you could even write it, you can make like a contract to yourself about how you value yourself or these kinds of things.
Vanessa: Yeah, I like that. That’s a great idea. And then yeah, when you lock it into when there’s Saturn involved, it does take you quite long term. It does see you through. Yeah. A commitment. Venus into Libra, September 29 that’s just useful, planets in sign, harmony.
Alejo: That’s the dayyou want to take your date out, you want to propose for marriage, these kinds of things.
Vanessa: Or pitch a project or ask for a raise, borrow the charm of Venus, wherever it is in your chart. You know, I always look at the transits for writing the Glamour horoscopes. And I’m just like, “you’ve got charm on your side in this area of your life, so you might want to use it.”
Alejo: It could be also with yourself. It doesn’t necessarily— I mean, of course it’s Libra, but it could also be, “Okay, how do I beautify myself to seduce other people?” Or if it’s in the third house, “How do I beautify the relationship with my siblings?” For instance. It doesn’t always have to be romantic. Yeah.
Vanessa: Exactly. Or just yeah, how do I add more beauty to my life? When it goes through the work house, why not just give your work station, wherever you work, a bit of a makeover so that you just really enjoy it. Declutter, make sure that air can flow because that area of your life is ruled by air. You know, maybe put a pot plant there, a nice painting. Make it nice, put something that smells nice. What else? We’ve got Mercury entering Libra October 10, for the master negotiator. Master mediator, that’s probably a good word. Do you need mediation in that area of your life? Very charming. The charm of Libra is unparalleled. If you wanted to channel the goddess into your words. I was thinking about that, too. And also Libra season just enjoying poetry say, you know, the spiritual poet Rumi, who also was a Libra. Libras hanging out and loving Libras, as well. So yeah, enjoy some work by Libras that really help to foster that idea of harmony and balance. And that’s a good way to channel it and bring it into one’s life. And one’s mind frequency, yeah. Read poetry, write some poetry, write a relationship book with all your experience so other people can learn from your bad choices, and what you learned and the things that works. I think that would be perfect. A dating book as the scene changes so much, and there’s so much change keeping up with all of that.
Alejo: Yeah, that’s true. Yeah. How to triumph on Tinder.
Vanessa: Yes. Saturn. Yeah, so we’ve got Pluto direct, Saturn direct. So for people that their planetary rulers of, that’s good news. I’m looking forward to Saturn direct, and we can all get on with things.
Alejo: I think, yeah, I think it will make an impact. Yes.
Vanessa: And then at the very end, on the day, there’s a photo finish with Venus entering Scorpio on the same day as the Sun, just enters before the Sun to finish out the month. I always think it’s nice when Venus is in sign with the Sun as well, because they’re hanging out together. And it just brings a nice flavor to the month. That’s at the very end.
Alejo: I think that, too, because Venus is like the concert of the Sun.
Vanessa: Yeah! And so our next section is—
Alejo: Whenopportunity knocks.
Vanessa: Yeah, I feel like I did that one with the air trine, I’d say that from October 8 to 18.
Alejo: I think so, too.We talked about this already. Yes.
Vanessa: Yeah. And you mentioned the kite at the beginning of the month. Around the 27th of September through to the early.
Let’s go to key takeaway and monthly mantras. Do you have a key takeaway/mantra affirmation?
Alejo: Okay, yes, I came up with two affirmations. So you can pick the one you like most. And also, I will say you can adapt it to how you feel it’s right for you. So the first one is, “I love you as you are, as I love myself as I am.” So to bring the balance of the other people, but also don’t forget about who you are. And then I like this one very much. This is from— I don’t remember where it’s from. But it’s from some tradition. I don’t remember if it’s in Latin America or in India, to be honest. But it says, “You are my other I, I am your other you.” I think it’s also very Libra.
Vanessa: Ahh, I like it. Yeah. And these ideas to set us off on that relational way of viewing relationships, that we’re all connected, a projection of each other, but not to get lost. That’s so essential.
Alejo: Exactly, and how the relationships I have actually are also telling me something about who I am.
Vanessa: Yes. What was it that you said before? The love we have is the love we think we deserve or the relationship?
Alejo: Yeah, “we accept the love we think we deserve.” I think it’s such a powerful— we could use that one as a motto, yes?
Vanessa: I think so, too. And as a point to just reflect on with that Mercury retrograde, reflect on that. What your relationships and the state of them say about what you think you deserve, and the state of that. And that can be quite illuminating, actually. Yeah.
Alejo: Yeah, I think it’s a simple phrase and very powerful. Yeah.
Vanessa: I think so, too. I have got a few mantras, so I shall share a couple of those. “I easily attract partnerships that complement and support the highest version of me.” I like to talk about mutually amplifying, as well. So put that in there, “mutually amplifying”. Complementary. Complementary is a good Libran word. “I easily maintain working partnerships that create both abundance and joy in my life.” And obviously the other person’s. Mutually amplifying. I’m going to do one more. “I easily create peace, beauty, harmony and love in my environment. So simple.
Alejo: I love that you start with “I easily.” It’s nice.
Vanessa: I easily, I easily, I always use that. I easily.
So what’s on your coffee table? What are you reading? What are you sharing.
Alejo: So I’m reading a book, I haven’t finished it, it’s called The Mystery of Human Relationship by Nathan Schwartz-Salant. And basically, well, the cover of the book, actually, it’s already a whole thing because it’s an alchemical painting in which the sun and the moon are represented as a king and a queen, I’m sure you’ve seen it somewhere. And basically, what he does is talk about relationships. And not only relationships in the meaning of romantic relationships, but any kind of relationships in work in your family and stuff. So what he does is, he’s a psychologist, so he brings a scientific perspective to that, but also he adds the alchemical symbolism to the scientific interpretation. So basically, he says that he sees that relationships create a third entity. Or sometimes he talks about this idea that each person involved in the relationship, they step into a space that’s in between them. And so how do they go into that space? And so he uses, of course, some things from his patients. And he reflects on how to read that field that is kind of emerging between two people, and how to work with it, how to read it, how to understand it, how to work with it. And he uses a lot of alchemical symbolism, as well as kind of scientific psychology. So I think it’s very interesting because it’s also Libra in that sense that he brings a balance between the mystical aspect of it and the scientific aspect of it.
Vanessa: Exactly. I think that’s interesting. And it makes me think of the composite chart in astrology, you know, that totally speaks to the relationship as a third entity. Yes, ties in quite nicely. And you write Lovers of the Arctic Circle, it’s a movie?
Alejo: Itis a movie by a Spanish director, he’s called Julio Medem. And it’s a wonderful movie. Of course it’s about relationships and love, Lovers of the Arctic Circle. It has a lot of Libra flavor, because it’s how they manage to read each other, to understand each other, to create this relationship. And I think a lot of movies by him have a lot of Libra, also I think he has a lot of Pisces. Sometimes they’re very Neptunian also.
Vanessa: Yeah, the romance. So that’s a good idea to enjoy movies that have Libra themes. I’m going to share one, I’ve found it in the local library, I just sometimes go and see if they’ve got any solid astrology books, and sometimes they do. So this is called A Scheme of Heaven. It’s fairly new. It’s astrology and the birth of science. So it’s history, by Alexander Boxer, who I think he lives in New York or around there. So Alexander Boxer has a Doctorate in Physics from MIT, a Master’s degree in the History of Science from Oxford and a Bachelor’s in Classical Language from Yale. His technical research has appeared in journals such as Nature Physics. In his spare time, he’s an active member of Atlas Obscura as a DC based— ah, DC, there you go— field agent. And this is why I thought it was interesting: he’s not an astrologer. He calls himself a “curious skeptic.” But he’s done all this amazing historical research and put it together, using his background in statistics and data as a lens also. And it’s a really big book, also. So he writes, “Astrology was once a cutting edge scientific tool. In his work of history, data scientist Alexander Boxer examines a treasure trove of esoteric classical sources to expose the deep imaginative framework by which, for millennia, we made sense of our fates. Astrology, he argues, was the ancient world’s most ambitious applied mathematics problem, a grand data analysis enterprise sustained by some of history’s most brilliant minds from Ptolemy to Al-Kindi to Kepler. A Scheme of Heaven explores the wonderful subtleties of astrological ideas, telling the stories of their inventions and most influential exponents. Boxer puts them through their paces using modern data sets, finding that the methods of today’s scientists are often uncomfortably close to those of astrology’s ancient sages.
Alejo: Wow. Yes, that’s very interesting.
Vanessa: I thought so. I’ve asked him onto my podcast for an interview because I thought that was really interesting. On his website, he’s got a functioning digital astrolabe to show the horoscope, which I thought was also interesting. So it just keeps time or you can key in your birth chart or whatever coordinates and it will show you what that looks like on this digital astrolabe.
Alejo: Wow. Must be an interesting person. Yes.
Vanessa: I think so. And yeah, he’s just gone in really open-minded, even though he’s not an astrologer. So great. And now he knows more than probably most astrologers about the history.
So, next section, what we’ve got coming up. Let’s look at Astro Uni, then we’ll go to you, and then I’ll share mine. So, head over to, everybody, astrologyuniversity.com. Go to the event calendar page. And we’ve got lots of really great webinars coming up. I think there’s like seven for the month. So September 19 to October 12: Chart Interpretation 2, this is the aspects and that’s with Kelly Surtees, going through the five major aspects. September 21 through to October 16: The Elements, Modalities and Polarities. This is with Karen Hamaker-Zondag, Safron Rossi, Demetra George and Tony Howard. “Discover some of the most important building blocks in astrology, the elements modalities and polarities make up the energetic underpinnings of the signs.” I think that is a really great foundational course to do, because a lot of self taught people don’t really know about the modes or people forget about these and they are essential to understanding the signs, aren’t they, like completely essential? You could just write things down using those and not the signs. Then we have September 21-October 16: The Four Angles, and that’s with Tony Howard and Darby Costello. So speaking of the angles earlier, and how important they are. September 21 to October 16: The History of Astrology, and that’s going to be with Demetra George and Christopher Renstrom. Fascinating, fascinating. September 21 to October 16: Astrological Counseling Tools. And this is going to be with Mark Jones, Hadley Fitzgerald, Carol Ferris, Kelly Surtees and Jessica Lanyadoo. Also essential for seeing clients and doing clients. Very, very important. So you’re the authority and you know, “your word is your wand” as Florence, my classic Libra, says. It’s so important to have control of the situation and understand your impact on people and listen, listening skills and counseling skills
Alejo: And how to deliver the information, also, it’s so important.
Vanessa: It really is, especially with a lot of people using the traditional astrology, where they’re saying “This is good, that’s bad, that’s in detriment.” You take it as such a big problem if it’s all sounding quite negative, you know, that’s not helpful.
Alejo: Because if you’re an astrologer, I mean, if you’re an astrologer, you say— I remember Nick Campion did this interview to Liz Greene. And he was asking her like, well, but you do say, “I’m moving because I have a Uranus transit on the IC,” even though you’re a psychological astrologer, you’re saying I’m moving because I have a Uranus transit on the IC? And she answered something like, “Well, I’m saying that when I’m speaking to you, because I know you know what I mean. I know you don’t think that I mean, that it’s because Uranus is…” exactly. But when you’re talking with a client, he doesn’t have this framework, this perspective, this way of thinking. So if you say something like, “Oh, Uranus is in your seventh house, that’s why you’re getting a divorce.” He’s going through what’s happening, what happened in my relationship that caused this divorce that took me to this place? They just blame it on Uranus, and they end up asking you like, “when is it gonna go away?”
Vanessa: Or maybe thebreak up hasn’t happened but Uranus is coming through. You can’t just say oh, break up.
Alejo: That’s even worse.
Vanessa: Yes, so this is with a stellar group of astrologers who have had successful consulting practices for at least 20 years or more. A few are licensed therapists, as well. So it’s solid, you know, whatever you get in these webinars, they’re all very hand chosen and solid, so you can’t go wrong with these. We have September 24, Planetary Joys and the Houses and that’s with Kelly Surtees. And then the Mars Retrograde in Gemini talk with Tony Howard, October 1. So that will go through everything. I think that will be really interesting. It’s in Gemini for so long, well worth tapping into and when you understand more about it, you’ll be able to see, you know, in your life and other people’s life in the world, those themes coming through. I think that’s handy. Of course if you miss any of these or the times don’t work for your time zone, they’re available a la carte, and you can still watch them. So go for it. Alejo, what do you have coming up?
Alejo: So on the first of October, I’m going to— if you happen or if anybody listening happens to be in Holland or Netherlands, depending how you call it. On the first of October, they’ve invited me to the conference to their astrological conference. And we’re going to be talking about the hero’s journey like Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey, and astrology. And of course, it’s going to be in English, because I don’t speak Dutch. And so if you happen to be there, and you’re interested, you could go. And then on the 15th of October, I’m doing a webinar for Astrology University, which is going to be about hard aspects and how to make the most of it. Like we usually look at hard aspects as an evil thing, like when you see the chart. So actually, some clients asked me when they see the red lines, they asked you what, what are these lines? And my approach is that they hide treasures, actually, as Joseph Campbell would say, behind the dragon, there’s always a treasure. So we’re going to be talking about the hard aspects and how to profit from the gifts, I would say. And then I’m also open for for client consultations. And as you said, I’m a psychologist. So I also do therapy, like ongoing therapy or analysis, as you call it. Some people come because they just want to get to know themselves. So we call that analysis, not so much therapy. And I can do this no matter where you are in the world because I do it on Zoom. So if you’re interested, you can also contact me for that. Yes.
Vanessa: That sounds fantastic. And how do people find you?
Alejo: My Instagram is @liminalcosmos. And basically that’s the best way to reach me.
Vanessa; Okay, great. That sounds fantastic. And the Netherlands conference, is that going to be online? Can people watch that online as well?
Alejo: No, it’s only live, yeah.
Vanessa: Okay, cool. Well, what I have coming up is I’m doing readings, obviously open for consultations for astrology. Also, you know, mentorship, I have a few people that are writing books, you know, I feel like there’s this threshold that you cross. And once you’ve crossed it, it’s just something that you’ve gotten through, like your own inner glass ceiling. And I think when people see someone that’s done it, and they’re relatable, and they’re a real person, it just makes it seem more possible. So I have some of those going on at the moment, which is really interesting. So I invite anyone that does need that mentor to schedule in and all my Sag will get you going, don’t you worry about it. Also, I have finally got my hardcopy, my authored advanced edition of Astro Power, my third book, and that’s very exciting. It looks really beautiful. I’m very happy with it, very dense with information. This one is still on presale. It’ll be published mid November-ish. In November, but in the US early January, so you can get it at Book Depository, and they’ll send it over for free. So you can get it in November. A little bit cheeky, but yeah, well worth it. It’s very beautiful. It goes into depth to enter the planet, the archetypes, the mythology, the mythology before the mythology that then became the mythology for us. So it really opens things up a lot more and modernizes things of course, so it’s more useful for today. Yeah, with lots of really interesting history and herstory, of course, so highly recommended.
So thank you so much for joining us, Alejo, and sharing your insights. And thank you listeners for tuning in once again. I hope you have a wonderful, beautiful, gracious, harmonious full of love Libra season, and we’ll see you next month for the Cosmic Eye. Stay cosmic!
This month’s nonprofit is peta.org. People for Ethical Treatment of Animals, the largest animal rights organization in the world. Known for its successful “I’d rather go naked than wear fur” campaign, PETA focuses its attention on the four areas in which the largest numbers of animals suffer the most intensely for the longest periods of time, in laboratories, in the food industry, in the clothing trade, and in the entertainment business. They’re also concerned with cruelty to domesticated animals and you can report concerns to them through their site. From the website, animals are not ours to experiment on, eat, wear, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way. So tying animal rights into Libra themes of beauty and justice, I’m thinking specifically of animal testing for the cosmetics industry. Yes, injectables are tested on animals. The founding chart features Pluto in Libra conjunct Mars, the dark side of the beauty industry. As part of a stop animal testing challenge, PETA has a match my gift offer or pick up the charity Fauci Halloween costume to support their work. Just a heads up, I’m giving a trigger warning on some of their pages on the website that feature graphic images. So to donate, support, or learn more head to peta.org or find a grassroots local animal welfare service in your district, get involved or consider initiating a charitable service yourself.
Tony: Thanks for tuning in to the Astrology University podcast. Study astrology online with some of the greatest astrologers of our time at www.astrologyuniversity.com, where we offer webinars, online classes and virtual summits to bring you inspiration, connection and insight through the study of astrology. Take good care, and we’ll see you next time.
